Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-04-09
SOME QUEER LETTERS.
Representative Barnes Amusing Him
self by Making a Collection OF
Curious Communications.
People Who Write to COpgressmen-The
Things Which Men and Women
Want to Know.

| went home with an interesting scheme par
TALLY developed, says the Washington cor
respondent of the Globe-Democrst. MIR
Barnes is the personifcation Of the idea,
"laugh and grow fat" Hehas just closed
his first term, during which he developed
q wild mania for collecting the queer let
tiers of which every member receives more
or less. Mr.. Barnes got some OF those
letters in manuscript, Others he heard read
and stored in memory their contents. His
plan IS to compile the best Of them in q
book with illustrations by Mat O'Bryan,
the Georgia artist.
The Congressman is rich, and the ques-
ton of gain dosen't enter into his plans.
He believes he can produce something
which will make people laugh, and, that
accomplished, one of the chief aims of his
life Will be attained. In pursuance of his
scheme, Mr.. Barnes expects to send to all
of the members of the Fiftieth Congress a
circular, inviting them to turn over the
curiosities in their correspondence to him,
promising to withhold names wheI ever
il is desired.
Talking about this plan, Mr.. Barnes
said: "rhe other day | received letter
from man In my district who is worth
$4,000 first class business man who
runs large store, thanking me for q
package of garden seeds with l sent
him. After expressing his gratitude he
went or: The seeds We're duly planted,
came up all right with prospects Of yield
| ing he finest crop | ever aW; but To- nv
misfortune came. My wife let the
chickens get into the garden: trey
scratched up everything, and now l want
you to send me some more of the same
! kind
THAT man." said Mr.. Barnes, olives
three doors from a drug store where the
best varieties Of garden seeds are sold,
but rather than spend Is cents for them
he stops his business to write me for that
amount of seed, pays 2 cents on his letter,
! besides the cost OF paper, Ink, and en-
velop."
"UIements of nv state, told me Of a
letter from one of his constituents" Mr.
Barnes continued, saying he had breast
pin on which George Washington carved
MS name with his own hands. He thought
IS Clements was in Congress, assoclaung
with miIlionaires, he might sell il for him
and get few thousand dollars for lt.'f
But Gambler beats that" said the
Georgian. zone of his lady constituents
recently wrote to ask him 10 call on the
President and Cabinet, the Supreme Court
and the Senators and Representatives
and ask each one of them to send her an
Old cravat to be worked into q crazy
quilt. She added: ?. S-DOn't fail to
ask Mr.. Cleveland to send piece of his
wedding tie and 8 few scraps of Mrs.
CIeveland'S wedding dress and q piece of
the bridal veil, also piece of the
the dress his mother n-laW wore at the
wedding )"
Mr.. Barnes also tells the following:
A Catholic priest sent letter to Speaker
Carlisle, asking him if he would act as
agent to dispose of tickets for rattle at
a fair. He thought the Speakers lnfiu-
ence would induce many to contribute TO
good cause.
Mr.. Hatch of Missouri, while he was
pushing the pleurO-pneumOnia bill, got
letter from lady who said she had read
with great interest his work, but she
could tell him that he was going to vote
away millions Of the peoples money for
nothing. She had simple remedy, which
would cure murrain, Texas fever, pleurO
pneumonia, hog cholera and pips in
chickens. If he would obtain the patent
and secure congressional Endorsement she
would go halves with him, and they would
make two fortunes.
John NJ. Allen, the humorist of the
House, received request all the way
from Mississippi to 60 to the National
Museum and get description Of the cane
Andrew Jackson used to carry. He was
asked to have a photograph taken, and to
send the length, size color and kind of
wood The writer said he wanted to
make duplicate.
An C1d lodi n
mountains wrote to Mr.. CabelI that she
had been told he was lineal descendant
of Pocahontas, and that the traces of
aboriginal descent could be seen IN his
features. She wanted to know all about
his family history, AS she thought she
could trace kinship.
a Brooklyn man informed Felix Camp
bell that he had invented flying machine
and wanted him to get an appropriation
through Congress to perfect it, and also
to have the pOstoffice department adopt
it for the rapid and safe transit of the
mails over the country, without danger
from mail robbers, railroad collisions and
fire.
From mountain district in PennsylYa-
MIA a constituent penned his Congressman
the following:
DEAR SIR am q snake hunter; make
my living by hunting rattlesnakes and
selling their skins and Oil. 1 have dis
covered remedy which is proof agin
snake bites and other pisin insects. l |
have been bit many times and have cured
myself every crack, besides many of the
neighbors. Now, if you will get me a
patent for my medicine, amt got much
cash, but will pay you in snake skins
and oil, which l will put to you at the
lowest market price.
WILLIAM JACKSON,
Allegheny snake hunter.
a Minnesota member exhibited to Mr.. |
Barnes the follow ng:
My DEAR CONGREssMAN-Will you do !
me the favor to ask Mr.. Cleveland if there |
is any chance to make good investments |
in real estete near his country place, and |
whether the boom has passed by. l have !
read in the papers that large fortunes have |
been made in that vicinity on his judy |
ment. l amnot personally acquainted with
him, or l would write to him direct for |
mis- advice in this matter. l have got |
$1,000 in bank at Minneapolis, which
would like to invest on the Presidents |
judgment.
Just after making his famous speech |
against the Mormon bill about the close